But there many others who claim to hold the sceptre of
authority and expertise of a genre without having the basic understanding of intricacies
of their responsibilities.
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| ON THE HOT SEAT: Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi |
Shortly after Nigeria crashed 3-0 to Spain in a third
group game that would be remembered for our players’ profligacy in front of
goal, rather than performance, NFF President Aminu Maigari told reporters:
“Experience matters in all aspects of life. We are aware
that we used some players that were not supposed to be in Brazil for the
Confederations Cup. This is an eye opener, but we expect the coach to bring the
players that have experience for the rest of the World Cup. You can’t beat
Spain which is world's No 1 ranked team with home-based players.”
As if that was a fluke, the NFF boss reiterated his position
in a more elaborate and ‘hairdryer’ (borrowing Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous
trademark) interview on a TV programme, Soccer Africa, tearing into the Super
Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, some two days later. Sounds more like the military’s
pre-coup lines which come after the infamous ‘fellow Nigerians’ preamble.
“This is unacceptable. We have experienced players that were
not selected and this is where we have to step in.
'The coach doesn't have the sole responsibility on squad
selection. We all have to contribute. This team belongs to 165 million people.Selections should affect all these people so we cannot
continue to let this happen because we need to compete well with others."
Fair play to Maigari, he wasn’t alone with those lovely
patriotic sentiments. Indeed he has the backing of his lieutenant in the Glass
House, as the NFF secretariat is often called.
His vice-president, Mike Umeh told Vanguard paper: “Keshi
need to get stronger boys and we have them. I don’t know why he has refused to
bring in Osaze. Yes, we have always given him freedom to operate, but he must
work closely with the technical committee.”
Then a former vice-chairman and technical committee of the
NFF, Gen. Gregory Adebiyi, felt Keshi gave Spain the chance to avenge their
1998 World Cup defeat to Eagles, by fielding the local-based players in Brazil.
He told This Day: “Spain wanted to avenge and erase such
dark spot in their football history especially as Nigeria was in the
competition as African champions. It was definitely the best opportunity Spain
got and because our team failed to face reality of the time, it worked to their
favour.”
Some nice thoughts right? Yet Maigari had to play down his
criticisms later by offering words of praise for Keshi after millions heard him
on cable TV. Brilliant PR.
Let me state that I was one of the sceptics after Keshi’s
appointment, which I referred to ‘business-as-usual’. Why? Because I had doubts
he would be able to take bold moves that would resuscitate the dwindling
fortunes of the national team.
But he began to impress me especially after seeing the
home-based players in friendlies against Peru and Egypt. We lost both games but
I felt it was looking good.
Keshi then took the courageous step of blanking the likes of
Osaze Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins from the African Nations Cup and won the
competition. Less than 24 hours after his team’s triumph in South Africa, he
made an incredible claim that the NFF had prepared his sack letter and
threatened to resign from his post.
Does anyone need a soothsayer to believe Keshi may have been
right with his claims (NFF denied it) considering the above cynical quotes from
his employers? So Keshi must have to listen to the views of 165million
Nigerians on a roundtable to pick his team? Or needs an Odemwingie who averages
one goal in every six games for the Eagles to salvage his strikeforce? Didn’t
Nigerians see how Kenneth Omeruo took the centre back position from Captain
Joseph Yobo and excelled at the Nations Cup?
Brazil coach, Felipe Scolari won only two games from his
first seven games in charge after returning to his national post. Then he rallied
his young team to win the Confederations Cup, steamrolling the European and
world champions, Spain. What would have happened if Maigari and his men were leading
the top echelon of Brazilian football authorities?
Football management is much more than team selections, a
comprehensive knit that involves creating the right atmosphere and implementing
well-thought structural plans that can promote development and long term
success.
The NFF should be more concerned about the problem of recycling the same players for successive age grade competitions than spewing knee-jerk
reactions, subject to team's results. The administrators will do well to look at
development strategies that would help produce quality players from time to
time, for the national team. Let Keshi do his job please!
It is never out of place to suggest Keshi and his team must
learn from their experience in Brazil. But it is simply surface-scratching to
claim the absence of some ‘experienced players’ is the reason we lost against
the likes of Uruguay and Spain. Experience only counts if the competitive
quality is still a key factor in reckoning.
I don’t envy Keshi any bit. His situation seems like that of
the proverbial ‘unwanted wayfarer’ who told his hosts he has got melodious
songs in his repertoire. Not sure who is going to join him in chorus. Tough
luck,big boss.
